Embracing Ambiguity in India

Surprises come with the territory when working in international development across India. As senior engagement manager at Sattva Consulting, Rahul Shah, PTMBA ’15, MFin ’15, must navigate uncertainty as he works across all domains with all types of stakeholders on a diverse subcontinent.

Within his first four years on the job, Shah has traveled across 21 of India’s 29 states. “From one state to the next — even within states — it’s a new language, new cuisine, new music and new dance,” he says. “They worship different gods. They have different festivals. It’s a whole new culture altogether.”

At one point in time Shah found himself leading a micro-entrepreneurship project with a corporate client in one state, a child welfare project with a nonprofit client in another state, and a menstrual health project with an impact investing client in a third state.

“The states were different, the project types were different and the clients were different,” he says.

When reality interrupts a well thought through plan, Shah could complain. Instead he smiles and adjusts. The key, he says, is staying humble, being agile and having a positive mindset.

“We go with a plan, but there will always be unknowns,” he says. “Humility and agility are essential for course correction.”

Even Shah’s career in international development started with a course correction. When he enrolled in a dual degree program at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, Shah intended to emerge as a financial analyst.

Instead, he found himself captivated by courses in social entrepreneurship and nonprofit strategy. He got involved with local nonprofits through Maryland Smith’s Part-time MBA Association and consulted with international development clients through the school’s Center for Social Value Creation.

“Maryland Smith helped point me in a new direction,” he says. “It was wave of transformation in my own journey.”

Shah, a first generation Indian-American who grew up in Silver Spring, Md., started looking for opportunities in his parents’ homeland after Maryland Smith. He moved to India in 2015 and hasn’t looked back.

“I experience many things as a foreign tourist, not having grown up in India,” he says. “But in the end, these are my roots.”

One client even has an office across the street from Rahuls mother’s childhood home in Mumbai.

“India is an extremely diverse country,” he says. “There is so much to learn and so much to contribute.”

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